Track gauging method and apparatus



Aug. 18, 1 970 6 17. BLACKWELL, JR ET AL A A TRACK GAUGING METHOD AND APPARATUS Fild Jan. 23, 19 68 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 drro/e/i/m s Aug. 18, 1970 5. T. BLACKWELL, JR, ET AL TRACK GAUGING METHOD AND APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 23, 1968 UUS. %m w %w M WB YW film W aw W 4 m 60 United States Patent 01 fice 3,524,624 Patented Aug. 18,, 1970 3,524,624 TRACK GAUGING METHOD AND APPARATUS George T. Blackwell, Jr., P.O. Box 278, Oneonta, Ala. 35121, and Duard E. Winters, 7 Parkside Blvd., La Vale, Md. 21502 Filed Jan. 23, 1968, Ser. No. 699,822 Int. Cl. E01b 29/22 U.S. Cl. 254-43 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A track gauging method and apparatus for positioning the rails of a railroad track a standard distance apart. The method comprises positioning a gauging member transversely between the rails of the track, moving the gauging member to a position above the space between adjacent crossties of the track, inserting the gauging member to a position between the bases of the rails, and urging the rails toward each other, so that their bases engage the gauging member. The apparatus include a gauging member having end surfaces positioned at the prescribed distance for rail base separation, with the ends of the gauging member including downwardly extending projections for insertion into the railroad bed as may be necessary, and clamping members normally pos'itionedoutwardly of the rails of the track, which are movable inwardly toward each other and into engagement with the rails to urge the rails toward each other.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION When laying or repairing the rails or road bed of a railroad track, it is usually necessary to gauge the rails of the track; that is, it is necessary to measure and set the distance between adjacent rails in the track to insure that the rails are positioned the proper distance apart. The gauging process usually comprises inserting a gauging member between the balls of adjacent rails, transversely of the length of the track, and urging the balls of the rails into engagement with the gauging member. The plates of the rails are then spiked into place, and the gang ing member moved down the track to a new location.

When following the usual gauging procedure, the rails of the track are frequently inadvertently tilted from the vertical. This condition may occur when debris, such as a rock or other foreign matter, is present between the base of a rail and its plate, or between the plate of a rail and the crosstie, or when one of the crossties is sloped at an angle with respect to the other crossties. When a rail of a track is inadvertently gauged and spiked into a tilted position, and when a train rolls over the track, the tilted rail is usually pressed back into an upright position under the weight of the train. The sloped crosstie or debris in the track will succumb to the weight of the train; the crosstie being pressed flat into the road bed and the debris being crushed. Since the bases of the rails extend transversely of the length of the track, in the direction in which the rails are gauged, and at a level adjacent the pivoting axis of a tilted rail, when a tilted rail is pivoted back to an upright position, there will be virtually no lateral movement of the base of the rail; however, the pivoting of the rail results in a substantial lateral movement of the ball of the rail. Therefore, a track which may have been recently gauged from the balls of the rails will become a closed gauge or an open gauge track.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly described the invention disclosed herein comprises a track gauging method and apparatus which gauges the rails of a track from the inside edges of the bases of the rails. When the rails are gauged in this manner, and if rail is tilted, the balls of the rails will be improperly gauged; however, the rails subsequently will be pivoted back to an upright position under the weight of the train, and the balls of the rails then will be properly gauged.

Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for gauging the rails of a track which properly spaces the rails even if they are tilted. Another object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus for gauging the rails of a railroad track from the bases of the rails.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus for gauging the rails of a railroad track from a point in the rail which is substantially in line with the pivot point of the rail, so that any tilting or pivoting of the rail will result in the ball of the rail being pressed into its proper position.

Another object of this invention is to provide apparatus for gauging the rails of the railroad track which is inexpensive to manufacture and operate and which gauges the rails of the track with optimum effectiveness.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a schematic end cross-sectional view of the rails of a railroad track, showing the rails as they might be pivoted by the presence of debris between the rails and their supporting crossties or plates;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the track gauging apparatus, showing the end, top and rear of the apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the gauging bar; and,

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the track gauging apparatus showing the hydraulic cylinders, gauging bar, and clamping members.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now more particularly to the drawing, in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 shows the railroad track 10 which includes crosstie 11, plates or shoes 12 and 13, and rails 14 and 15. Plates 12 and 13 are connected to crosstie 11 by means of spikes 16 and spikes 16 grip rails 14 and 15 by means of their heads 18. Rails 14 and 15 each include base 20, web 21, and ball 22. The track shown in FIG. 1 is of conventional construction.

When track 10 is laid or repaired, there are some instances when rails 14 and/or 15 will be tilted from the vertical. Such an instance might be when a rock 24 or 25 is inadvertently positioned between crosstie 11 and plates 12 or 13. When plates 12 and 13 are secured to crosstie 11 by means of spikes 16, rails 14 and 15 will rest in a tilted position, as indicated in the full lines of FIG. 1. The dotted line positions of rails 14 and 15 indicate the positions the rails would take if they were connected to crosstie 11 without being tilted. Debris 24 and 25 might be rocks from the bed of the railroad, chip of wood from the crossties or a warped or improperly positioned crosstie 11. In any event, the result of the presence of debris 24 and 25 is that the rail is tilted so that its ball 22 is displaced from the vertical centerline of the rail.

When gauging a track with the conventional method which gauges the distance between the balls 22 of rails 14 and 15, it can be seen that if rail 14 was properly positioned (in its dotted line position, without debris 24), and rail 15 was improperly positioned (for instance, in its full line position with debris 25 positioned 'between crosstie 11 and plate 13), the gauging mechanism would gauge between balls 22 of rails 14 and 15 when ball 22 of rail 14 is in its full line position and ball 22 'of rail 15 is in its dotted line position. When a train is subsequently run over track 10, its weight will usually be suflicient to press rails 14 and 15 in a downward direction with sufficient force to crush or compress debris 25, which tends to pivot rail 15 back to, or at least toward, its dotted line position. Thus, the distance between balls 22 of rails 14 and 15 will be changed by the weight of the train, and, in this instance, the gauge of the track will become open; that is, the distance between balls 22 of rails 14 and 15 will be increased. Of course, if rail 14 includes debris 24 beneath its plate 12, and rail 15 is properly positioned on crosstie 11, the weight of the train will crush debris 24, causing rail 14 to pivot from its full line position to its dotted line position, thereby moving ball 22 of rail 14 closer to ball 22 of rail 15. This movement of rail 14 causes the track to have a closed gauge; that is, the distance between balls 22 of rails 14 and is decreased from its previously gauged distance.

As is shown in FIG. 2, track gauging apparatus 27 comprises housing 28 which includes back wall 29, end walls 30 and 31, top wall 32, and front Wall (not shown). The front, top and back walls are connected at their ends to end wall 30 and 31, and the top edge of front wall is connected to the leading edge of top wall 32. Back Wall 29 is spaced from top wall 32 and defines a space through which gauging bar 34 moves. Housing 28 is normally supported from rails 14 and 15 of track 10 by means of wheels or guide rollers 36, 37, 38 and. 39. Wheels 36 and 38 are double-flanged Wheels, having flanges 40 and 41 positioned on opposite sides of track 14, while wheels 37 and 39 are single-flanged wheels, having flanges 42 positioned outwardly of track 15. Double-flanged wheels 36 and 38 include springs 44 which extend around the axles 45 of the wheels between flanges 41 and supporting tab 46. Thus, Wheels 36 and 38 are always urged toward end wall 30. Supporting tabs 47 of wheels 37 and 39 are spaced from end wall 31 a distance suflicient only to accommodate wheels 37 and 39. Thus, wheels 37 and 39 do not shift axially along their axles 48.

Lifting brackets 50 and 51 are connected to top wall 32 of the housing and define aligned holes therethrough to receive lifting pin 52. Thus, when it is desired to lift track gauging apparatus 27 from rails 14 and 15, a hook or chain or similar lifting device can be wrapped around lifting pin 52, and track gauging apparatus 27 can be lifted from or onto tracks 14 and 15.

As is shown in FIG. 3 gauging bar 34 comprises a rectilinear metal strap or plate 54, and rail engaging feelers 55 and 56. Feeler 55 is rigidly Welded to plate 54, while feeler 56 is bolted to plate 54. Feelers 55 and 56 are substantially similar in configuration, and each includes body portion 58 of a height approximately equal to the height of gauging bar 54, and a depending protrusion or penetrating portion 59 which extends downwardly from each end of plate 54. Feeler 56 defines a series of slots 60 through its body portion, and Allen head screws 63 extend through slots 60 into apertures (not shown) in plate 54, to attach feeler 56 to plate 54. Support plate 61 is bolted onto plate 54 by means of similar screws 62, and functions to prevent feeler 5-6 from mov-v ing toward the center of gauging bar 34.

Ribs 64 and 65 are attached to the face of plate 54 in the left /3 portion of the plate, and are oriented in a vertical direction to define a vertical slot therebetween, while ribs 67 and 68 are attached to the opposite /a of plate 54, to define a vertical slot therebetween. Similar ribs 66 and '69 are attached to the inside surface of housing back wall 29, with rib 66 extending in the slot defined between ribs 64 and 65, and rib 69 extending in the slot defined between ribs '67 and 68. Thus, the movement of gauging bar 34 within housing 28 is limited to a vertical movement.

Hydraulic cylinder supports 72 and 73 are attached to housing 28, with legs 74 and 75 of the supports being connected to back wall 29, and legs 76 and 77 being connected to top wall 32. Double acting hydraulic cylinders 78 and 79 are mounted on platforms 80 and 81, respectively, and piston rods 82 and 83 extend through platforms 80 and 81. Piston rods 82 and 83 are connected by means of brackets 84 and 85 to apertured protrusions 86 and 87 of gauging bar 34 (FIG. 3). Operation of double acting hydraulic cylinders 78 and 79 is such that upward and downward movement of gauging bar 34 will be motivated by the hydraulic cylinders.

Clamping members 90 and 91 extend from end walls 30 and 31 of housing 28, and each include an L-shaped body portion 92 and a supporting socket 93. Connecting rods (FIG. 4) extend through socket 93 and internally threaded caps 94 are threaded onto the ends of the connecting rods. Clamping members 90 and 91 are pivotable about their respective connecting rods 95. Hydraulic cylinders 96 and 97 are positioned within the housing 28 and oriented so that their connecting rods 95 extend toward and through end walls 30 and 31, respectively, and are joined to clamping members 90 and 91. Hydraulic cylinders 96 and 97 are double acting cylinders, and function to move clamping members 90 and 91 into and out of engagement with rails 14 and 15. Since body portions 92 of clamping members 90 and 91 are L-shaped, the inner edge 98 of the lower horizontal leg of each clamping member will engage the Web portion 21 of rails 14 and 15.

Back wall 29 defines a pair of spaced holes 100 (FIG. 2) and plate 54 of gauging bar 34 (FIG. 3) defines a pair of holes 101 which are spaced apart a distance equal to the spacing of holes 100. Thus, when gauging bar 34 is raised to the level where its holes 101 are in alignment with holes 100 of housing 28, retaining pins 102 and 103 (FIG. 2) can be inserted into the aligned holes, to retain gauging bar 34 in an elevated position.

As is shown in FIG. 4, hydraulic cylinders 78, 79, 96 and 97 are connected to valve .105 through a plurality of conduits and headers. Valve housing 104 defines a center opening 106 which is connected to a source of high pressure fluid, return openings 107 and 108 which are connected to sump or supply, and transfer openings 109 and 110 which are connected to headers 111 and 112. Valve piston 114 includes positioning spool 115 and flow control spools 116, 117 and 118, which control the flow of fluid through openings 106, 107 and 108. Control spool 115 includes an annular groove 119, and a pair of spring loaded ball bearings 120 are urged toward the surface of spool 115. Thus, when valve control handle 121 is pivoted about its fulcrum 122 to move valve stem 124 and its valve spools 115-118, one of the spring loaded ball bearings 120 will be allowed to drop into annular groove 119 of valve spool 115, which tends to properly locate valve piston 114 with respect to its housing 104. Thus, when control handle 121 is pivoted in the direction as indicated by arrow 12.5 and valve spools 115-118 are moved to the left, liquid under pressure will flow through opening 106 to the right of valve spool 116, and then through opening ;110 into header 112. Header 112 is connected to hydraulic cylinders 96, 97, 78 and 79 through conduits 126, 127, 128 and 129. The flow of liquid through these conduits forces the pistons of the respective hydraulic cylinders to move to the opposite end of the hydraulic cylinders, whereupon the liquid from the opposite ends of the hydraulic cylinders will flow through conduits 136, 137, 138 and 139 into header 112. Since header 112 communicates through opening 109 with valve 105, and since spool 117 is positioned to the left of opening 107, the liquid from header 111 will be free to flow through opening 1107 back to the sump (not shown). Of course, when control lever 121 is moved in the direction opposite to arrow 125, the flow of pressurized fluid will be to header 111, and the movement of the pistons in hydraulic cylinders will be in the opposite direction.

OPERATION When it is desired to gauge the rails of a railroad track, track gauging apparatus 27 is lifted by means of its lifting brackets 50 and 51, and its lifting pin 52 onto a pair of rails of a track. Wheels 36-39 rest on rails 14 and 15, so that housing 28 is suspended between the rails. Housing 28 is then rolled to a position where gauging bar 34 is suspended above a space between adjacent crossties. Control lever 121 is then pivoted in the direction as indicated by arrow 125 (FIG. 4), whereupon hydraulic cylinders 78, 79, 96 and 97 function to move gauging bar 34 in a downward direction, and to move clamping members 90 and 91 in an inward direction. Since feelers 55 and 56 of gauging bar 34 include protrusions or penetrating portions 59 which are of substantially small cross sectional area in a horizontal plane, protrusions 59 will penetrate the road bed of the track a distance sufficient for gauging bar 34 to be moved to a level where the outer edges of feelers 55 and 56 are placed adjacent the bases 20 of rails 14 and 15. Since the outer edges of protrusion 59 of feelers 55 and 56 are rounded, any misalignment of gauging bar 34 with respect to rails 14 and 15 will be compensated for as gauging bar 34 moves in a downward direction, since the rounded edges of protrusion 59 will guide gauging bar 34 inwardly of bases of rails 14 and 15. Gauging bar 34 is always maintained in a horizontal disposition by means of guide bars 64, 65 and 67, 68 riding on guide bars 66 and 69 of back wall 29.

As gauging bar 34 is moved in a downward direction, clamping members 90 and 91 are moved inwardly toward rails 14 and 15. The inner edge 98 of each horizontal leg of the body portions 92 of clamping members 90 and 91 engage the webs 21 of rails 14 and 15. Of course, movement of clamping members 90 and 91 in an inward direction causes rails 14 and 15 to also be moved toward each other until the inner edges of bases 20 of each rail engage gauging bar 34. At this point, rails 14 and 15 are properly spaced from each other, or gauged. When control arm 121 of valve 105 is reversed, gauging bar 34 will be elevated by means of its double acting hydraulic cylinders 78 and 79, while clamping members 90 and 91 will be moved outwardly away from rails 14 and 15 by means of their double acting hydraulic cylinders 96 and 97. Track gauging apparatus 27 then can be moved along rails 14 and 15 to a new position above a space between adjacent crossties, whereupon the process can be repeated As is shown in FIG. 1, when rails 14 and 15 are tilted due to debris, such as debris 24 and 25 positioned between crosstie :11 and plates 12 and 13, or due to a sloping crosstie, or due to other conditions, the ball 22 of each rail will be displaced a substantial distance, while the inner edge of the bases of the rails will encounter virtually no displacement. Since the weight of a train traveling over track 10 will tend to pivot a tilted rail back to an upright position, it is desirable to position the base of the rail in its proper position, even if the rail is slightly tilted. It" the base of the rail is properly positioned, the subsequent erection of the rail will bring it into its proper position and the track will be properly gauged. Since the bases of the rails extend generally from the approximate pivot point of a tilted rail toward the opposite rail, virtually no lateral movement of the base of the rail will be encountered upon any tilting of the rail, as the base of the rail will move in a downward direction, or essentially perpendicular to a line extending between the adjacent rails. This movement is indicated by arrows 140 and 141 of FIG. 1.

Since rails utilized in the construction of tracks may vary in their dimensions, particularly the dimensions of their bases, feeler 56 of gauging bar 34 has been constructed so that it can be moved inwardly of or outwardly of gauging bar 34. The threaded screws 63 of slots 60 can be loosened, and feeler 56 can be slid to its new position. Support plate 61 is usually removed and replaced with a support plate of different dimensions, so that it abuts the edge of feeler 56. Of course, the apertures of support plate 61 can be arranged so that they are positioned gradually closer to the various edges of the plate, and a single support plate 61 can be utilized to engage the inner edge of feeler 56, and when feeler 56 must be repositioned, support plate 61 can be removed and turned to a new position. Since wheels 36 and 38 include springs 44 about their axles 45, wheels 36 and 38 can be moved with the rail as they are urged inwardly toward gauging bar 34, as when feeler 56 has been adjusted for a narrow gauge.

While a particular valve and conduit system has been disclosed as controlling the hydraulic cylinders of the invention, it should be understood that various other and different means might be utilized. For instance, it might be desirable to utilize separate valves for various ones of the hydraulic cylinders, especially if it is desired to move gauging bar 34 and clamping members and 91 independently of each other. Also, it is anticipated that a pneumatic system or a mechanical system can be utilized in the place of a hydraulic system, as desired.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many variations may be made in the embodiment chosen for the purpose of illustrating the present invention without departing from the scope thereof as defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for gauging the distance between adjacent rails of a railroad track, comprising:

a housing including a pair of wheels on each side there of for engagement with each rail of the track;

a gauging member in said housing extending between said pairs of wheels;

clamping members positioned on each side of said housing and including clamping elements normally extending beyond and below said pairs of wheels; and,

actuating means for moving said gauging members in a downward direction from a position above the bases of the rails to a position between the bases of the rails and for urging said clamping elements inwardly beneath said housing and into contact with the rails.

2. Apparatus for gauging the distance between the rails of a railroad track comprising a gauging member positionable between parallel rails of a track at the base of the rails, said gauging member including a bar extending transversely of the rails of the track with a downwardly extending projection at each of its ends for engaging the bases of the rails, means for lowering said bar until said projections extend below the bases of the rails, and clamping means for clamping the bases of the rails against said gauging member.

3. The method of gauging the distance between the rails of a railroad track comprising:

supporting a gauging member from the rails of the track in a position extending laterally across and between the rails of the track at a height above the bases of rails, supporting rail clamping members from the rails of the track at positions on the outside of the track,

moving the gauging member and clamping members along the track until the gauging member is positioned above a space between adjacent cross ties of the track,

lowering the gauging member to a level between the bases of the rails, and

moving the rail clamping members against the outside surfaces of the rails to urge the bases of the rails against the gauging member.

4. The invention of claim 3 and wherein the step of lowering the gauging member between the bases of the rails comprises lowering the gauging member to a level so that portions of the gauging member are positioned below the bases of the rails and below the upper surfaces of the cross ties, and wherein the step of moving the rail clamping members against the outside surfaces of the rails comprises moving the rail clamping members into engagement with the web portions of the rails.

5. The invention of claim 3 and wherein the step of lowering the gauging member to a level between the bases of the rails includes moving the rails away from each other if the rails are too closely spaced apart.

6. The invention of claim 1 and wherein said gauging member comprises downwardly extending projections at its ends for movement with the gauging member to a level below the bases of the rails, said projections including inwardly tapered outer surfaces for wedging apart the rails as the gauging member is moved in a downward direction.

7. The invention of claim 1 wherein said actuating means comprises an hydraulic system constructed to actuate said gauging member and said clamping elements simultaneously.

8. The invention of claim 2 wherein said clamping UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,696,885 12/1928 Keough 33-144 1,909,535 5/1933 Hanford 33144 2,216,434 10/1940 Cooper 254-43 OTHELL M. SIMPSON, Priamry Examiner D. R. MELTON, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 33144 

